The gubernatorial campaign squabble over appointing women and minorities to government jobs--and whether that constitutes a quota system--spills onto California's airwaves today when Republican Pete Wilson accuses Democrat Dianne Feinstein in a television commercial of planning to put "quotas over qualifications" if she is elected governor.

July 18, 1990 | Elements of the ad, with analysis by Times political writer Cathleen Decker

The race: Governor. Whose ad? Republican candidate Pete Wilson. A new 30-second commercial airing statewide criticizes Dianne Feinstein's pledge during the primary campaign to appoint women and minorities in direct proportion to their numbers in the state's population. In making the criticism, Wilson makes use of newspaper coverage of Feinstein's remarks. Elements of the ad, with analysis by Times political writer Cathleen Decker.

Congress and corporations are finally showing signs that they are aware of the impact on family life of the dramatically changing role of women in the workplace. After years of inaction, Congress is on the verge of adopting a compromise bill to set up a multibillion-dollar child-care program. Much more is needed, but it will be a good beginning.

Fresh from a weekend dust-up about her pledge to appoint women to half of the jobs in her Administration, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday said she would view her election as a "significant achievement" for women but strongly disputed that she also might be alienating male voters. "I don't think there will be a backlash," the former San Francisco mayor said at a Century City press conference, backed by prominent representatives of the women's movement.

A toughened policy that requires the city's department heads to closely monitor and investigate charges of sexual harassment was instituted Thursday by Mayor Tom Bradley. The policy, which takes effect immediately, calls for employee supervisors to be trained not only in what constitutes sexual harassment but also in how to deal with employees accused of it. The new policy is based on a recent recommendation by the city's Commission on the Status of Women.

Women and minorities have made gains on the California State University faculty in the last 12 years, although the percentages of blacks and Latinos among junior faculty members have declined, a study released Tuesday said. The affirmative-action status report, presented to the university's Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach, showed that overall, racial minority group members made up 14.22% of the faculty on the 19 Cal State campuses in 1987, compared to 9.97% in 1975.